Bleach Gender Bender: Renji and Ichigo
by Are-san
Summary: One of Urahara's experiments causes Renji and Ichigo to temporarily become female! How are they going to deal with this revelation? And why is Renji so goddamn sexy!
1. Chapter 1

"What do you mean it's not reversible!?" A shriek rang through the air, at a painfully high pitch.

"Now, now, Kurosaki-san. You shouldn't yell, you know, you'll get wrinkles all over your pretty face..." Urahara Kisuke waved his signature fan, looking up at the currently screaming Kurosaki Ichigo.

"MY FACE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE PRETTY!" Another inhuman shriek.

"Calm down, now. I didn't say it was permanent, I just said that I can't reverse it. Well, not yet."

"So, ya can fix it?" A deeper voice this time, accompanied by a shock of vibrant red hair.

"Given time I think so."

"You _think_ so?" Ichigo growled, grinding his teeth together.

"I'm almost positive!" Hat-and-Clogs said cheerfully.

"Grrr..." It took an arm around his shoulders to stop the orange-head from laeping at the ex-captain and strangling him. Renji just chuckled. "C'mon, Strawberry, we'll just have t' wait. It ain't so bad."

"Speak for yourself!" Ichigo muttered. "I look like-...like-..." he couldn't say it, couldn't voice the horror of their situation.

"Like a girl?" Renji teased.

Ichigo just scowled and avoided looking at his friend, it was... awkward to look at Renji now...

Renji and Ichigo had been training all morning, until both of them were covered in sweat and dying of thirst. And therein their troubles began. For who should turn up with convienient bottles of water but Urahara Kisuke? And normally Ichigo would have been extremely suspicious of the ex-captain's "charity" but he was parched, and they drank without thinking. And as he watched his friend chug down what must've been gallons of water his eyes grew wider and wider.

First it seemed like Renji's body was shrinking, becoming slimmer, and then his face became rounder and softer, less angular. It wasn't until the other man started developing far more ... curvy attributes that Ichigo started to panic. "Renji! What the hell?"

"What?" the other had replied, and then his eyes focussed on Ichigo. "Whoa, Strawberry! Since when do ya have tits?"

"_What?!_" Ichigo looked down at his chest, where two very prominent mounds had formed. "What the hell is going on!?"

It wasn't until an hour later, when both "men" had checked and discovered that they had, in fact, become female. _Entirely_ female. That Urahara decided to explain himself.

Apparently he'd needed guinea pigs for his new process, and the two shinigami boys were the perfect test subjects. The way Kisuke put it, "it could be a very useful tool for people undercover to be able to change their gender whenever they want."

So there they were, Kurosaki Ichigo and Abarai Renji. Women.

And, unfortunately for Ichigo, Renji made an extremely attractive woman...

"She" was still tall, and leanly muscular, but the skin remained its tight, lustrous tan, and the deep black of Renji's tattoos continued to ripple sinewously across her chest and stomach. And that long, silky hair was left down to wave around strong, slender shoulders. In short, Renji was hot. Really hot. And Ichigo found it increasingly difficult to remember that Renji was an irritating, loud-mouthed bastard.

Renji had been attractive anough as a male, but as a female she seemed to ooze sexuality.

And Ichigo was more than a little attracted.

Not that Ichigo himself was unattractive as a girl, but he was what one would call 'pretty', not sexy as Renji was. His short hair was pulled back from his face with a beret he'd borrowed from his sister ( she hadn't seen him, thank Kami) and his body had become softer and curved sweetly into gentle curves. He noted, with some displeasure, that even as a woman Renji still managed to outshine him in the looks department. Ichigo looked down at "her" small b-cup breasts with a scowl, glaring up at Renji, whose d-cups were nearly busting out of one of her form fitting t-shirts.

Renji had opted for one of the t-shirts she'd favoured as a man, tight and clingy across the chest and shoulders, and a pair of ridiculously short cutoffs that showed off a pair of sleek, gorgeous legs. Ichigo had chosen the more conservative coverage of a plain t-shirt and loose jeans.

"You look like a slut." she muttered darkly, continuing to glare.

Renji grinned, "Yeah. I know."

Ichigo rolled her eyes. "It's a good thing you won't be a girl much longer. Otherwise you'd probably seduce the entire neighbourhood!"

Renji pouted, pulling off the teasingly sexy look far too well, "Ya say that like it's a bad thing..." she purred with a smug grin.

Ichigo buried her face in her hands, cursing the wretched scientist who'd done this to him. The next few days were going to be complete _Hell_.


	2. Chapter 2

When Ichigo woke up the next morning she'd hoped desperately that it had all been a dream. She was bitterly disappointed when, upon opening her eyes, she found herself in one of Urahara's spare rooms. She'd left a note for her dad, saying she was spending a few days with a friend while they worked on a 'school project'. Thankfully it was a long weekend, so she didn't have to face the horror of trying to go to school...

"Mornin', Ichigo!" A jovial voice said from the doorway. She looked up to see Renji, dressed in a hopelessly revealing flowered yukata, with her hair tied back in a braid and a goofy grin on her face.

"Right... Morning..." Ichigo grumbled in reply, growling and pulling the covers up over her head. She yelped when a moment later she felt an enticingly soft body fall onto her lap. She pulled down the blanket hastily, eyes wide in shock as the breath was knocked out of her. "R-Renji, what the hell?" she wheezed, glaring confusedly at the other girl.

"Don't be grumpy!" the redhead said, pouting, eyes twinkling with mischief. "This is gonna be fun!"

"How the hell is getting a involuntary sex change supposed to be fun?!" Ichigo demanded hotly, cheeks flushing in irritation as Renji continued to grin.

"C'mon, Ichigo." Renji insisted, shifting so she was straddling the smaller girl, "Have you even looked at your new body? Think of what you could do with it..."

Ichigo blushed hard, attempting to shove the other girl off of her. Which resulted in her hands going in various embarrassing places and making Renji initiate a girl on girl wrestling match.

Once that embarrassing activity was over, and Ichigo had turned several different shades of strawberry red, they both went out into the sitting area where Urahara already awaited them.

"Ladies!" he greeted, smiling cheerfully.

Ichigo growled and ground her teeth together, crossing her arms stubbornly across her chest. Only to lower her arms again quickly when the movement caused her new "assets" to bulge out even more. She bit her lip and looked expectantly at Urahara, waiting for the green-hatted man to give her the news that she would return to normal soon. But instead she got to sit with a cup of tea in front of her and figit.

"So I made some progress on your cure last night." Kisuke said finally, hiding his expression behind his ridiculous fan. "Though I haven't yet found a way to reverse the effects I do think I have a good idea of how to find one."

"Well that's good." Renji said, sipping her tea. The collar of her robe slide provacatively down he shoulder as she drank, making Ichigo gulp and look away. Renji didn't even bother to fix the problem.

"How much longer?" Ichigo demanded, eager to know when this horrid business would finally be over.

"Shouldn't be more than a couple of days."

Okay. He could survive that long, couldn't he? He'd just stay inside and not speak to anyone, and wait until Urahara fixed it...

"In the meantime, Rukia-san has been looking for the two of you, and Orihime-chan was asking for you, Ichigo." The blonde ex-shinigami said casually.

Ichigo looked up with wide eyes. "Y-you didn't tell them about...?"

Kisuke waved his fan dismissively. "Of course not, Kurosaki-kun!" he said airily. "It's not like me to gossip about others."

Ichigo groaned and buried her head in her hands. The shopkeeper's denial was an almost sure sign that he'd told everyone what had happened. He was never going to live this down...

Suddenly, there was a rustle of movement and the murmur of voices coming from the entryway. Ichigo attempted to scramble to her feet as the voices came closer. She clawed at the ground, hoisting herself to her feet, but she lost traction on the soft pillow she'd been sitting on, falling forward and only just catching herself. She was once again trying to climb to her feet when the door slid open and the speaking voices suddenly stopped.

"Hi, guys!" Renji greeted happily, waving a hand as her voluptuous breasts nearly spilled out of her yukata. Ichigo froze in mid flail, looking back at the door with a horrified expression.

Standing in the entryway were Orihime, Rukia, Chad, Matsumoto, Ikkaku and Yumichika, all of whom seemed to be stunned, staring at Ichigo and Renji.

Rukia was the first to speak, blinking her overlarge eyes repeatedly.

"When Urahara-san told us... I mean... I thought he was joking...." she murmured, disbelievingly. Renji grinned and shook her head.

"Nope, he was tellin' th' truth this time. Ichigo 'n' I are girls. For now anyway." She grinned wider, getting to her feet and swinging her long red braid back. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Matsumoto pouted. "Abarai-kun... I think your breasts are bigger than mine..." she whined, frowning. Renji looked down at her chest.

"I don't think so, Matsumoto. Yours are definitely bigger..." she said, tipping her head to one side and looking at Rangiku's boobs curiously.

"Let's compare!" the blonde vice-captain insisted, surging forward and standing in front of Renji, weighing the other girl's breasts in her hands. Renji seemed unfazed. "I'm tellin' ya, Rangiku-san, yours are bigger."

Ichigo was flabbergasted. How could Renji act so... so... _cool_ when some one was fondling her?! She was huddled up, humiliated and blushing in the corner. Orihime came toward her, smiling softly.

"Kurosaki-kun?" she murmured quietly. "Are you okay?" she asked, kneeling beside the other girl.

Ichigo bit her lip. It was hard to feel upset when Orihime's presence was so sweet and soothing. "Y-yeah. I think so, Inoue... This is all... just so weird..." she answered, smiling back shakily. Orihime nodded.

"It's okay." the busty girl said brightly. "Being a girl isn't so bad! And I'm sure Urahara-san will turn you back soon." Her smile was blindly hopeful. So innocently concerned, Ichigo couldn't help but smile back.

"Why didn't I hear about this yesterday!?" a screech sounded from across the room, followed by a resounding 'thunk' as Rukia smacked Renji in the head.

"Ow..." the redhead whined. "I didn't think t' tell ya. I was a little more concerned 'bout what had happened!" she answered, rolling her eyes at the shorter girl. Ikkaku, meanwhile, was killing himself laughing, pointing at the two shinigami, tears of mirth in his eyes.

"Hahahahaha! Abarai and Kurosaki! Girls! Ha!" he roared, laughing hysterically. Yumichika went up to Ichigo, cupping her cheek with a soft hand.

"You are surprisingly beautiful, Kurosaki-kun..." he said, fluttering his feather-lashed eyes. "You make a lovely woman."

Ichigo blushed and moved away, clearing her throat awkwardly. "Uh... Thanks..." she muttered, looking away.

Chad, as usual, was completely silent, standing like a monolith in the doorway with a blank look on his face. He looked at Renji, then over at Ichigo, then once again at Renji.

"Your robe is slipping." He pointed out to Renji, pointing to the girl's bare, tattooed shoulder.

She looked where he pointed, shrugging and pulling the material back up her arm, breasts doing an impressive jiggle with the movement. Matsumoto continued her pawing at Renji, and she was soon joined by Rukia, who was muttering jealously about Renji's endowments. Chad went to sit with Orihime and Ichigo, who were discussing what to do until the situation was reversed. Yumichika returned to Ikkaku, who was still wheezing with laughter. And Urahara watched it all with a mysterious expression under his wide brimmed hat...

"Abarai-kun!" Matsumoto squealed excitedly. "We need to take you and Kurosaki-kun shopping!"

//

**Hey everybody! Thanks so much for the reviews, and I'm glad you're enjoying the Bleach Gender Bender story XD I'm having a lot of fun with this, and if you have any ideas about what i should do in the series, please feel free to tell me about them.**

**I have a question for you:**

**Would you rather Renji and Ichigo return to their normal bodies in the next couple of days?**

**Or do you want them to get delayed and be forced to go to school in their new female forms?**

**Read and Review!**

**Are-san  
**


	3. Chapter 3

"Er...Rangiku-san?" Ichigo murmured. "I... need some help..."

"Can't get your bra on properly?" she asked in a sing song voice.

"Shh!" Ichigo hissed. "Can't you speak more quietly?"

They were in the middle of a large department store, trying on lingerie. Matsumoto had insisted that they get underwear first. And Ichigo had been blushing the entire time as they walked through displays of lace and silk and satin. Everything was so _tiny_ and what did she need a bra for anyway?!

"I figured mine out just fine." Renji said smugly from the next dressing room over. "Ya haven't been undressing girls enough, Ichi-chan."

"S-shut up, Renji!" Ichigo squealed, blushing even deeper as Matsumoto entered the dressing room with her.

"Oh, your little breasts are just so cute!" The busty woman said, fondling Ichigo as she helped to place the bra in its proper position.

"Rangiku-san! Stop touching me!" the orangette demanded, "Perverted woman! You're molesting me!"

"Ya say that like its a bad thing..." Renji muttered. "Ya really _are_ a virgin, aren't ya, Ichi?"

"So what if I am? At least I'm not a slut like you!"

"If you're tryin' to insult me you're doin' a poor job..."

Ichigo gritted her teeth, looking down at the scrap of white lace that Rangiku had fitted over her newly formed breasts. It was so embarrassing to have her false body fondled and petted at all the time. Why were people so fascinated with this body? It was just another girl body, right? Not that he would know about that anyway...

In any case, she couldn't wait to get her old body back. This new body was strange and foreign. She'd taken a bath the night before and had been horrified at the thought of washing herself! She just couldn't... _touch_ this new body. It was too weird. In the end she'd closed her eyes and tried to pretend she had her old body back. It didn't work, but the attempt was comforting in itself.

"Oi, Rangiku-san!" Renji called, stepping out of the dressing room. "I think this one is too small."

The blonde peeked out at Renji, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Looks pretty good to me..."

Ichigo looked out at the redhead and nearly choked. "Gah! What are you talking about?! It's tiny! And-and your bre- You're practically spilling out!"

Strawberry-red faced and mortified the orange haired girl ducked back into the dressing room and squeaked. Renji was out there, barely dressed, spilling out of her bra, and _anyone_ could see! Did the woman have no shame? Standing so nonchalantly, covered in nothing but jeans and black lace... _oh god..._

"Exactly!" Matsumoto gushed. "You look very sexy! Let's get that one!"

Renji nodded, smirking as she went back into the dressing room. "Alright!"

-//-

The day was spent in the same mortifying manner, getting dragged by a bosomy blonde and a tattooed redhead all through the mall like a puppet. Ichigo was forced to try on dozens of different outfits. _Including dresses and skirts! _And all the while Rangiku giggled like a schoolgirl and Renji smirked. It was beyond humiliating, it was torture. Ichigo wanted to _die _of embarrassment.

They took a break in the food court at one point, which proved to be worse than the shopping. Men kept coming up to their table while they were eating, chatting up Rangiku, asking for Renji's number. A couple even told Ichigo she was cute. As if she hadn't been blushing _before._

But by the end of the day everyone had a whole new wardrobe (courtesy of Soul Society's expense account). Even Matsumoto, who didn't even need the clothes.

They arrived back at the shouten exhausted and in need of good news. Urahara Kisuke fulfilled at least part of that.

"Kurosaki-kun! Abarai-kun! I do hope you enjoyed yourselves!" he simpered, waving his fan heartily. "I have some good news for the both of you!"

Ichigo looked up from where she'd collapsed on the floor, eyes hopeful. "You found a cure?"

"Indeed! I have!"

Ichigo was on her feet in a moment, eyes shining. "Really? Can I have it now? Will it turn me completely back to normal?"

"Well..." the expression was hidden behind the fringe of a green and white hat. "See now that is a problem..."

Ichigo's hope deflated immediately. "What?"

"You see, in order for me to ensure that the cure is made properly and will work completely, it'll take at least two weeks for me to make it..."

"Two weeks?" Ichigo's voice came out as a squeak. Her eyes were wide and when she took a step back, she wobbled dangerously. "I-I can't miss school for two weeks!"

Renji shrugged. "Then ya'll just have to go to school, ne?"

Ichigo looked down at herself, the budding, smallish breasts, the slender waist, the curvy ass. "I can't go to school like this!"

-//-

In the end there was no choice. School started the next day and Ichigo laid awake in her bed, contemplating whether or not it was possible to die of humiliation.

They'd come up with a plan, they would say that Ichigo was on an trip with his aunt and uncle, and that this new girl Ichigo was boy Ichigo's cousin, Saya. "Saya" would hang around for the next couple of weeks while Ichigo was away.

It was so unfair... All Renji had to do was erase everyone's memories, then a female Renji wouldn't be a surprise to anyone. But of course Ichigo couldn't do that... Otherwise no one would remember her as a male! Why, _why_ did these things always happen to Ichigo?

She was so lost in thought that she never heard the door slide open, or the slide of fabric on skin as someone walked through the room towards her.

"Hey, Ichi. How're ya holdin' up?" A soft voice asked, causing the spiky-haired girl to jump half a foot in the air.

"Renji?" she whispered, gritting her teeth. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" she hissed.

Renji rolled her eyes, settling down to sit beside Ichigo's futon. "Ya were freakin' out a lot today. I thought I'd see how ya were." she murmured, flicking her braided hair over one shoulder.

In the dim light Ichigo could barely discern the concerned look on her friends face, but it was strangely comforting to know that Renji was still her friend despite what had happened.

"I just don't know what to do, I guess... Not something you deal with everyday, you know?" She said nervously, looking down at her hands. There were still callouses on her palms, despite all the transformations the marks from Zangetsu remained on her hands. She was still Kurosaki Ichigo, no matter what.

"Yeah, it's a little weird." Renji said, smiling comfortingly. "But it'll be over eventually, right?"

"R-right." Ichigo managed a small smile. "Yeah, I guess I just got to look on the bright side. Thanks, Renji."

A glint of mischief appeared in the redhead's eyes but she quickly smothered it. "No problem. Just look at the silver linin', Ichi. It'll all get better." the tall woman chuckled.

Ichigo was feeling the most normal she had since this whole mess started, and she was about to thank Renji again. But then the tattoo-sporting shinigami just had to ruin the moment.

She'd leaned forward and kissed Ichigo right _on the lips!_ Like it was the most natural thing in the world! Ichigo was stunned, flabbergasted, unable to react for several minutes.

But by the time she regained her senses the other woman's tongue was busily exploring her mouth and she was horrified to realize that she was _kissing back._

It was wet but gentle and strangely innocent. Ichigo soon found that it was pleasant to slide her tongue against Renji's, so she did, and her eyes closed and she completely forgot that this was bad. That she was in the wrong body and _Renji_ had just stolen her first kiss. She forgot everything except for the velvety feel of lips caressing and tongues sliding and sucking. It was so surreal and so _good._

"G'night, Ichigo." Renji murmured, pulling away and leaving a confused strawberry behind. The redhead left quickly shutting the door behind her.

_What just happened? _Ichigo asked herself. Not sure she wanted to hear the answer... She blinked, running a finger over her swollen, wet lips, and tasting Renji on them. _Did I just...?_

She couldn't get to sleep that night, her mind was bursting with sensations. The sensation of surprisingly soft lips over her own, of a hot mouth that tasted vaguely sweet, like dark chocolate. But the redhead in the room next door did sleep, dreaming of innocent blushing faces and stealing kisses from lovers with spiky orange hair....

**-//-**

**Kinda short I know, but interesting nonetheless, don't you think? Please review!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thus far, I have been showing things from Ichigo's point of view, which is basically traumatized. I thought everyone might want to know how Renji is handling all this strangeness. Hope you enjoy learning what else is going on.**

-//-

Getting ready for school was strange, then again, it had always been strange for Renji. Human clothes fit so tightly, and there were rarely any clothes that were built for someone over six feet tall. The shinigami vice-captain felt like a giant in a too small world. The only comforting person in that regard was Sado-kun. That man probably felt like a giant all the time.

Then all of this happened, and it only made Renji's awkwardness worse. As a man, Renji was completely ignorant of the human world, and this transformation did not help at all.

She was still too tall, clothes still didn't fit her properly, her hair was too bright, her tattoos were too strange. She never fit anywhere here. Admittedly, she stood out in Soul Society as well, she had never fooled herself into thinking that she was in any way _normal, _but people accepted her there. When you heard whispers in Seireitei about Abarai Renji, it was usually the squad talking about something that had happened, not about how their fukutaichou _looked_.

That was all humans seemed to care about, was how different someone was. She knew Ichigo had been picked on from an early age because of that bright orange hair, and Orihime-san as well. Humans were such a judgmental group.

She smoothed the skirt over her long legs, looking up into the mirror. It was odd to see such a feminine face there when she was used to seeing such a hard one. Mostly she just tried to laugh it off, but it was a jolt to see herself this way. Ichigo still looked like, well, _Ichigo_. Ichigo had always been long and lean, with a smoother face and wide, deep eyes. Male or female, Kurosaki Ichigo didn't look that different.

Abarai Renji couldn't look more different.

Renji's features were masculine, very much so. His face had been angular and sharp. Now, her face was softer, still angular, but all that masculinity was gone. Her body too, was soft now. As a man, she'd been pround of her body, of being hard, being scarred. It proved that she'd worked hard as a shinigami. Now, her skin was soft and her body was soft. It felt so wrong.

She sighed and stepped out into the hallway, heading towards Ichigo's room. Ichigo was not taking it as well as she was, she knew that. She knew the younger shinigami couldn't handle the emotional strain. That's why she'd been forced to speak to Urahara the night before...

-//-

"Ah, Abarai-kun. A moment please?"

"Hm? What's the matter, Urahara-san?"

The blonde ex-captain had sighed, pulling off his hat and looking Renji dead in the eye. "I said it would take two weeks to make a cure. That _a cure._ Only one. It'll take another two weeks to make a second."

Renji's eyes had widened, her chest felt tight. "Cure Ichigo first. I can wait. Ichigo can't handle it."

"You are sure?"

"Yes."

-//-

That was when she'd headed over to Ichigo's room. She was planning on telling her about what Urahara had said. But seeing that lonely form under the blanket... She couldn't bring herself to say anything about it.

Self sacrificing as Ichigo was, the stupid kid would no doubt insist that Renji be cured first. Well not this time. Renji was standing up and being the hero this time.

"Hey, Ichi. How're ya holdin' up?"

Talking to Ichigo, hearing the nervousness and worry in the youth's voice. It had broken something in Renji. She forgot how innocent Ichigo was. Sure, she teased her for being a virgin and being young. But she never really thought, after all they'd been through, of how vulnerable the other could be. Kissing her hadn't really been planned, it had just happened. it was instinctive, like so many other things that Renji did.

But it had felt right, and when had her instincts led her astray before?

She wanted to do it again, kiss the frown off Ichigo's face. It wasn't as if she'd never thought about it before. As a man, she'd wondered at Ichigo's reaction if she just grabbed her and kissed her, during a sparring session or something like that. She'd never thought Ichigo would kiss back, the most she'd expected was a blush and a punch in the face. But there she was, wrong. Wasn't the first time that had happened either.

Pulling herself back into the present, Renji looked at Ichigo's door and sighed. "Ichigo! We're gonna be late!"

"I-I'm not going!" Came a small voice from inside.

Another sighed from the redhead, "Weren't you the one who said ya can't miss more school?"

"Y-yeah..."

"So what's the problem?"

The door opened slightly, and there stood Ichigo, cute as a button in her school uniform. She tugged at the skirt, blushing violently, looking almost like she was going to cry.

"Ya look fine." Renji assured her. "So long as everyone thinks you're someone else, there's no reason to be embarrassed. "Saya" wouldn't be embarrassed wearing a girls' uniform."

"I know that!" Ichigo snapped. "I just... feel weird."

"Well I've never worn a skirt before either, but ya don't hear me complaining."

The orangette blushed deeper and growled under her breath. "F-fine. I'm coming..." she stepped out, lean legs set off in a pair of knee socks and ankle boots, and stormed down the hallway. Renji rolled her eyes and followed.

-//-

Their friends met them along the way, with Rukia and Orihime assuring Ichigo that everything would be fine. Renji knew everything would be fine. For some of them sooner than others...

"So is it really you in there, Renji?" Ikkaku asked, looking Renji's body up and down. Urahara had been forced to make Renji a completely new gigai, and Renji had just left her long hair down rather than her usual ponytail and headband.

"Yeah, it's me, Baldly." Renji answered slyly, watching in amusement as Ikkaku freaked out.

Yumichika was idly playing with a bit of Renji's hair. "I never noticed how beautiful your hair was, Renji-kun. You should wear it like this when you're a man again."

Renji scrunched up her nose in distaste. "It gets all tangled and shit. That's why I don't bother. I think I'll just stick with what I usually do with it."

Yumichika sighed dramatically at his advice being turned down, looking over at Ikkaku. Rangiku smacked Renji's shoulder.

"Don't talk like that! It's not ladylike!"

Renji scowled. "And I ain't a lady! I'll talk how I want!"

"And stop using "ore" when referring to yourself!**" Rangiku continued, ignoring Renji's protest. "Girls don't do that."

Renji scowled deeper. "Well, I'm a tomboy." she stated, glaring at Rangiku. "Now leave me alone! Go tell Ichigo this stuff."

"I did! And she blushed so cutely and said she'd try to remember." The big-breasted woman gushed, going on a tirade about Ichigo's cuteness. It was a relief when they finally reached the school.

-//-

They were introduced at the front of the class by the teacher, who seemed vaguely confused about why she kept getting random transfer students in her class, but couldn't be bothered to care that much.

"This is Kurosaki Saya, she's here to collect homework and notes for Ichigo-san while he's on a trip with his aunt and uncle."

Ichigo bowed and said a polite "nice to meet you" before fading back, still blushing, behind Renji.

"And this is Abarai Ren. She's new here. I expect you to show them both around and make them feel welcome."

Renji bowed too, but didn't say anything, and they were both shown to their seats.

-//-

Teenage boys were assholes. That was Renji's conclusion by they time they got to lunchtime. She'd been approached by no less than thirteen boys, and a couple girls too, all asking questions about her and Ichigo. Most of them could be scared off with a sharp glare, but the more persistent ones needed actual answers.

"Saya 'n' I have known each other for awhile, alright? Leave me alone!" she finally snapped, stomping off until she finally caught up with her friends.

Ichigo couldn't seem to escape, there was a group of boys following her around everywhere she went. Most embarrassing of all, her friend Keigo was hitting on her constantly.

"You're awfully cute, nee-chan! Are you sure you're Ichigo's cousin? You must come from the prettier side of the family!"

"Um, Asano-san?" Ichigo murmured, forcing a small smile. "I'm going to go eat with my friends, okay? Bye!"

She ran like a bat out of hell, anything to get away from the perverted clutches of her old friend. It was so entirely _wrong _to have Keigo hitting on her. It made her feel like her skin was crawling.

"Ew..." she groaned, sitting with her friends, looking very uncomfortable. "This is all just... not right."

-//-

The rest of the day was more embarrassment. More teenage boys pawing at their skirts, more curious kids asking awkward questions about their personal lives. By the end of they day they were exhausted and never wanted to hear another voice calling after them.

"Abarai-kun! Ichigo-kun!" Urahara called.

"SHUT UP! WE DON'T CARE! LEAVE US ALONE!" They shouted in unison, matching expressions of exasperation on their faces.

'Oh... well I leave you two to yourselves then..." The man was not stupid, he sneaked away into the shadows, closing the door behind him.

Renji was on her back on the floor, panting and looking devastated. "I hate humans..." she muttered.

Ichigo was on her hands and knees, not looking much better. "Me too.... Why don't we just go to Seireitei and never come back?"

Renji looked thoughtful, the idea was very tempting. "But then Kurosutchi-taichou will do experiments on us..."

"That might be okay... I think I could handle that..."

-//-

That night Ichigo settled into her room, looking worse for wear. It was hard for her to believe that she had to survive another day of school the next day.

"I'm not going this time..." she muttered. "No way..."

Renji stood in her doorway and sighed. "But we have to, right?" she murmured, looking just as worn out as Ichigo.

"Yeah..."

Another sigh and the redhead dragged herself over to Ichigo's futon. "Do ya mind if I sleep in here? My room is cold..."

Ichigo was too tired to protest. "Okay... I guess."

Sleeping in a heap on Ichigo's futon didn't seem strange at that point. They'd already kissed, hadn't they?They were alone, no one else understood the feelings of humiliation and discomfort. It felt nice to cling to the person that shared their pain, though they'd never admit they were clinging to anyone.

Girls slept together like this all the time, right?

-//-

**I write far easier from Renji's point of view than Ichigo's... Oh well. I hope you liked this chapter. **

**** "Ore" is a way of saying "I" in Japanese. But its a very informal way that is considered almost impolite. Only boys use this way of referring to themselves, while girls usually use the more polite "Watashi". Anyone who's seen Ouran Highschool Host Club knows this difference.**

**Renji speaks rather gruffly, so I'll probably call attention to that later on. A girl would never speak the way Renji does normally.**


	5. Chapter 5

Renji woke up early that morning, with the sun just barely risen to filter light in through the window. She tried to stretch, but found that the majority of her limbs were occupied.

Ichigo was clinging to her waist, one smooth cheek pressed to the redhead's soft chest, peacefully, blissfully asleep. Ichigo's legs were tangled with hers, and her own arms were around the younger woman's shoulders, her left hand buried in her short hair. It was cozy, warm, and strangely natural. How many times had Renji thought of holding Ichigo like this when she was a man? How many guilty fantasies had their been?

As she looked down at that peaceful face something tugged deep inside her gut, a forbidden longing that pulled at her insistently. She pulled Ichigo gently up, looking over that sweet, innocent face. She didn't have the willpower to resist, so she just gave in to the urge, pressing her lips to the soft one's under her, kissing gently, tenderly.

Ichigo responded in the lazy way of the still sleeping, and Renji pulled back before she could wake up. It was too much, this desire, this slow burn inside her blood. It seemed like this whole experience had only made it worse. So she pulled away, and untangled herself from the young shinigami daikou, sighing and pulling her loosened robe tighter around herself. She left the room, going to the kitchen to drink some of that god awful coffee stuff. It _did_ keep you awake, even if it was disgusting.

-//-

Apparently, a girl named Chizuru had been absent from school for a few days, and upon her return discovered two fresh young attractive women who had yet to feel her "charms".

"Saya-chaaaaan!" she called cheerfully. "Why didn't anyone tell me such a sweet little flower had joined us here?"

Ichigo looked horrified as the horny lesbian came closer and closer. Renji just looked confused, having had little to no experience with this woman before. After all, she'd been very much a man before, and therefore off of Chizuru's radar.

"And _you!_" Chizuru gushed, licking her lips as she approached Renji. "It's Ren, right? My, oh, my... You are so beautiful! So rugged! The tattoos, the hair, the rough way you speak! Such a perfect specimen of female rebellion! Lovely!"

Renji backed away, not understanding a word that was coming out of the girl's mouth, but Ichigo sensed imminent groping and grabbed Renji's hand.

"We gotta go!" she said quickly, dragging the tall redhead behind her.

Chizuru pouted and crossed her arms. "I didn't realize they were a couple..." she sighed. "The good one's are always taken." she shrugged. "Orihime-chan!"

-//-

In less than a week, Urahara would have the cure ready. Ichigo assured herself of that over and over, everyday. Her and Renji had gotten very good at avoided both the perverted boys and Chizuru over the past few days. Though, mostly, Ichigo just dragged Renji around and the taller woman didn't protest.

Renji had been strangely quiet, uncharacteristically thoughtful. Ichigo wasn't sure what was going on, but Renji and Urahara had been talking a lot lately, hiding and whispering around corners, only to go silent when Ichigo came around. She didn't know what they were talking about in those moments, but she assumed it was the reason why Renji was acting strangely.

In truth, the redhead was apprehensive about the upcoming weeks ahead of her. It felt like the longer she stayed in this body, the more permanent it became, and that feeling unsettled her. But she knew that Ichigo would lose it if she wasn't changed back, so she just kept her mouth shut, grinned and forced herself to bear with it. She knew Ichigo would be upset with her for not saying what Urahara had told her, but since when had Ichigo being angry ever been something new?

She sighed, running a hand through her long red hair, biting her lip. "Three weeks..." she murmured to herself.

-//-

"You ready, Kurosaki-kun?" Urahara asked, waving a small vial in her face. There was a pulsing blue liquid inside, and it looked extremely suspicious.

"I guess..." she said, glaring a little at Urahara. If this was another experiment she was going to kill him. "So... I drink half of it or...?"

"No, you drink the whole thing." Urahara said, expression once more hidden behind a waving fan and the down-turned brim of his hat.

"Well... then where's the one for Renji?" Ichigo asked, frowning.

Renji sighed, arms crossed over her chest, gazing down at the floor. "There isn't one." she said, keeping her tone neutral.

"What?" Ichigo's scowl was back in full force, recognizable even on her female face. She turned on Urahara. "You said you would cure us!"

"And I will." Kisuke said calmly. "But Renji-san will have to wait until I can make another cure in a couple weeks."

"What?" Ichigo repeated, scowl fading in favour of a confused expression.

"Just take your cure, Ichigo." Renji said, turning to walk out of the room. "No point waitin' around."

Ichigo watched her leave, looking down at the vial in her hand. Why was Renji the one waiting? She should go after her and give her the cure, she should be the one to wait. But she missed her old body, she missed feeling like herself. It was obvious that Renji was already resigned to this decision. She sighed, taking the stopper out and downing the contents of the vial in one long gulp. She immediately felt woozy, tired. She fell to her knees, managing to catch herself just before everything went black.

-//-

Ichigo woke up in bed, blinking and groaning in discomfort, sitting up. A quick check around confirmed that it was Ichigo's bed, in one of the spare rooms of Urahara's shoten. The orange head gasped and stood, heading for the full length mirror in the corner of the room.

"I'm... me again." he said, voice back to it's normal pitch. He was shirtless, wearing a loose pair of jeans, and his chest was once again firm and _flat_. He thanked whatever gods were listening, hands moving to examine his body. He was completely back to normal, everything was exactly as it should be. Everything-

Everything, except Renji...

There was a knock on the door, a panel sliding open. "Hey, you're awake." Renji said, sounding cheerful, a bowl of ramen on a tray in her hands. "Urahara-san said you'd probably be hungry, so Ururu heated this up for ya."

Ichigo stared at her, at his friend, who was the same as she'd been for the past couple of weeks, but somehow completely different. Ichigo suddenly flashed back to the kiss they'd had on that awkward night, remembering the sultry feel of Renji's tongue sliding against his own.

He didn't know why Renji looked different, maybe it was the testosterone that was now back in his system. But suddenly everything about her seemed ten times more attractive than it had before. Which was saying something, since even as a woman Ichigo had thought Renji was sexy.

"Ichigo?" Renji set the tray down and approached Ichigo, reaching out to touch his forehead. "You ain't feverish are you? Your face is all red." She frowned, looking concerned. "I'll go get Urahara."

But Ichigo grabbed her wrist before she could get away, not entirely sure what his body was doing. But when Renji looked back at Ichigo with a confused expression on her gorgeous face Ichigo simply pulled her in and crushed their mouths together.

"Ich-!" Renji gasped, suddenly trapped against Ichigo's chest, panting as the young male kissed her heatedly. He'd forgotten the tenderness, the innocent exploration of the kisses they'd shared before. This was lust and hormones and _want.___

He didn't pull away until his lungs screamed for air, and when he looked down Renji's face was just as flushed as his own, her eyes slightly glazed.

"You... should let go of me... b'fore we do somethin' you'll regret..." she murmured quietly, pushing Ichigo away gently. "Eat. Feel better. I'll check on you later."

Without so much as a backwards glance the redhead rushed out of the room, leaving Ichigo to wonder what exactly he'd done wrong.

But the view of her ass as she'd left was not one he was going to complain about.

-//-

**So... I finally put up another chapter XD And, yay for Ichigo, he's a boy again. And apparently he has some raging hormonal lust going on for our dear Femme!Renji. Where is this going to go, hm? I actually have a few ideas, but you'll have to wait and see ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

Renji and Ichigo both woke up to an insistent beeping sound close to their heads. Renji woke up the fastest, spinning around and grabbing her communicator. In the next room Ichigo woke up more groggily and reached for his shinigami badge. By the time he was out of his body and heading for the door Renji was already outside.

Standing there, in the middle of the night, zanpakuto already in her hand, hair blowing in the breeze, Ichigo could see the warrior in Renji again. He hadn't even realized how much he'd forgotten, how strong Renji was, how determined. None of that had changed, just the look had, and Ichigo couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in himself for ever thinking otherwise.

The hollow was small, but fast, with striking talons that quickly ripped their shihakusho to pieces. It would dart forward to attack before retreating just as quickly, out of sword reach. Eventually Renji had enough.

"Howl, Zabimaru!"

It was strange, hearing that familiar growl in a voice that was Renji's and yet wasn't. All Ichigo could do was stand and stare as the giant, jagged blade materialized in a hand that seemed just a little to slim to be wielding it. But Renji swung with absolute confidence and strength, no matter what the form Zabimaru was always a part of her soul, meant to fit her hand.

Ichigo was still just standing there as the hollow dissolved into the air and Renji resealed Zabimaru with a flourish. She turned to him, grinning getting ready to head back. But something in Ichigo's gaze had her stopping.

Her uniform was ripped from one shoulder, slices across her chest, stomach and legs rendering the material mostly useless. Patches of tanned skin, striped with black, were exposed to the chill air outside. Ichigo's eyes drank all of this in with a look of enraptured lust that he couldn't bother to deny. Something seemed to change in Renji's expression, and she smirked lightly, approaching Ichigo with all the smooth confidence of a jungle cat.

She helped him loosen his death grip on Zangetsu's hilt, letting him sheath the massive blade before looking into his face.

"You like me in this body, don't ya?" She said quietly, only really half asking.

"Huh?" Was Ichigo's intelligent reply. His mind seemed to have lost it's grip somewhere between her walking forward and her touching his hand.

"Heh. I thought maybe you were just confused earlier. But you really want me right now, don't you?" Her voice was smug, and that smirk on her face was just pure _Renji. _And it made Ichigo automatically defensive.

"S-shut up. Let's go back." he snapped, turning away from her, blushing furiously.

Renji's smirk remained, not even dented by Ichigo's attitude. "Yeah... let's go back." she said, voice light, playful.

Ichigo suddenly thought of a cat playing with a mouse just before the mouse got _devoured_, the image made him shiver.

But really, he didn't think he minded being devoured right now...

-//-

Once they got back, Urahara was waiting for them, checking to make sure there were no injuries. Aside from a few scratches and their damaged clothing they were completely fine, so the shopkeeper just yawned and returned to bed, insisting that everyone else do the same.

"Yeah, Ichigo." Renji purred. "Let's go to bed."

Ichigo stumbled in mid-step when she said that, his blush returning as he stared at her. She slipped into his room, _his _room, stretching luxuriously, that deliciously curvy ass doing a provocative little wiggle. Ichigo swallowed loudly and followed.

"Shouldn't you be in your own room?" Ichigo asked quietly, looking pointedly down at his feet.

"My room is cold." Renji said, repeating an earlier excuse. She turned so she was facing away from him. She started tugging at her belt, loosening the tattered remains of her top, shrugging it off her shoulders.

"W-what are you doing?!" Ichigo hissed, having looked up just in time to see tattooed shoulders sliding out of black fabric.

"Well, these clothes are pretty well fucked." Renji replied easily. "I was thinking I could borrow one of your shirts, since I'm actually small enough to fit into one now."

Ichigo scowled, reminded of the fact that Renji was normally larger than him. But the redhead's currently slim figure meant that, yes, she probably could use one of Ichigo's shirts to sleep in.

"Cover yourself up." he said as he stepped forward to dig through his clothes, pulling out a shirt that was a bit too long for him. Renji didn't do as he'd told her to, she'd simply resumed stripping, and when he turned to face her she was sliding her ruined hakama down her legs.

A sound escaped his lips that was much like a yelp, and she glance up at him with a grin. "Oh, hey, that'll work!" She said, indicating the shirt in Ichigo's hand. She stepped forward to grab it while Ichigo's mouth slowly opened and closed like a fish. There was obvious amusement in her gaze when she looked back at his face. "Unless you'd prefer I not wear it?" she asked slyly.

Ichigo was far to distracted to answer. Renji was _completely naked! _As in nude, without clothing. There was nothing marring his view of smooth tanned skin, tight across her slim, muscular figure. Her tattoos were exotic, mesmerizing, drawing Ichigo in. Renji looked positively smug.

"I guess that's my answer then." she said, closing the inches between their bodies, tossing the shirt aside. She attacked Ichigo's mouth with her own, teeth sinking into his bottom lip. The pain moved him to action, grabbing her waist and pressing her hard against the nearest wall. The redhead grunted as her back collided with the hard surface, her hands going into his hair to tug and pull him tighter to her mouth. They ravished each other with colliding teeth and thrusting tongues. Renji's nails scraped across Ichigo's scalp, causing a low whine to come from his lips to hers, the sound vibrating between them.

Parting for air gave Ichigo's brain much needed oxygen and clarity.

"We-we shouldn't be doing this." he murmured, apparently ignoring his own words as he leaned in for another kiss.

The next time they parted Ichigo was left breathless, so Renji spoke, "C'mon, Ichi. Ya gotta pop that cherry sooner or later." she grinned, lifting up one long leg to wrap around his waist and pull him in tighter, their hips colliding.

The teasing words made Ichigo really _think_ about who he was with, about the fact that this was _Renji_ that he was pinning to the wall. "R-Renji..." he panted, voice breathy and pleading and his blush deepened, mouth opening to try and protest.

"Mm, I could get used to hearing you say my name like that..." she purred in a voice that was all predatory growl. She lowered her leg, flipping their bodies around so that Ichigo was against the wall. She immediately pulled at his clothes. Shinigami clothing was easy to remove at the best of time, but as ripped as Ichigo's were he was naked in seconds, with Renji's eyes looking him over hungrily.

He was reminded of the cat and mouse, wondering if he was still being played with, or if he was about to be devoured.

A bit of both, it seemed, as Renji's eyes fell on his erection, her tongue wetting her lips as her hands slid down Ichigo's bare chest. She looked back up at Ichigo with a smirk, eyes glinting with something he didn't have a name for.

Before he could comprehend her intentions she was getting onto her knees, palms cupping his thighs. He gasped and moaned throatily at the feeling of a hot tongue trailing up the underside of his cock, of hot breath cooling the saliva there as she spoke.

"Already this hard for me, huh?"

Dammit, why did Renji have to say things like that? In _that _voice? His cock couldn't help but twitch as the words sent heat up to his cheeks and down. She chuckled, obviously enjoying his mixed discomfort and arousal, but she didn't say any more, occupying her mouth instead with making him lose his sanity.

"Oh, fuck..." Ichigo whimpered, hands moving to her hair automatically as she sucked the head of his cock, tongue swirling slowly around the tip. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated, her mouth creating an obscene slurping sound as she moved further down over him. Her tongue was hot and wet, curling around his rigid shaft and pressing down on the throbbing vein.

She could taste his pulse, feel it as his heart rate increased. as his excitement grew. It excited her too, knowing his want of her, it made her shiver and moan around him, the vibrations earning her a sharp cry from inexperienced lips. If she could've grinned she would have, so she settled for carefully grazing him with her teeth.

"Fuck!" Ichigo swore, the move making him shudder all over, back arching over her, clinging desperately to her hair like a lifeline. But Renji didn't mind the pain from her abused scalp, in fact she kind of like it. So she started bobbing her head over him at a brutal pace, sucking hard, mouth moving around him hard and fast and _oh, fuck..._

"RENJI!" He cried out, loud enough to have Urahara grinning to himself in the next room, and his legs nearly gave out as he came harder than he ever had alone.

Renji swallowed, yes _swallowed_, and pulled away slowly, licking her lips. Her expression, however, was still of the cat teasing the mouse.

"Get over on the bed." she ordered quietly. Ichigo could only obey, and hope to survive.

-//-

If it hadn't been for Renji's hot, eager mouth on his, Ichigo would've woken up the entire household with his yelling. The redhead had pushed him down on the bed and started riding him hard, no warning, no way of preparing himself, just overwhelming slickness and heat around his cock, making him fall back and cry out.

She kissed him hard, moving his hands to her breasts, nails scraping down his stomach as she moaned and growled. He spent the rest of the night with a wildcat on top of him, under him, touching him, tasting him... biting him... He lost himself entirely in the pleasure, unsure how many times he came, or how many times she did, all he knew was it was 4 hours worth of blurred, exhausting pleasure. For awhile he'd been sure he was going to die from sheer overload, but he didn't, though eventually he just collapsed, unable to continue.

Renji, it seemed, was well satisfied with the entire night, nuzzling his throat as they fell asleep, purring under her breath. Her mouse had been fun to play with, and she'd thoroughly devoured him.

-//-

Over the next week Ichigo went back to his house, greeting his family as usual, punching his father in the face as he charged him. School was pretty normal, though people kept asking him where his cute cousin had gone and _why _was he so friendly with that new girl? But for the most part he felt better.

The fact that Renji often jumped him and dragged him into dark corners helped. It was hard to be stressed when you'd just been groped in the janitor's closet.

Renji was a demanding lover, insisting that Ichigo learn to give just as much as he could take. And, to his surprise, Ichigo enjoyed the learning, enjoyed learning the little spots on Renji's body that make her gasp, made her breath hitch. He happily indulged whenever possible.

But Urahara put a damper on the cheerful mood one day, taking Renji aside one day and murmuring something that Ichigo couldn't hear. Renji came back to him with a frown on her face, eyes concerned, biting her lip nervously.

"What's the matter?"

"Urahara-san says that he;s worried my body might be becoming too accustomed to the transformation. He wants to run some tests to make sure it's not... It's not becoming permanent."

"Permanent?" Ichigo was stunned. Renji could be stuck like this... forever? It was unthinkable. Sure, he'd enjoyed the time they'd spent with Renji as a woman, but he'd never thought that it would remain that way.

"He said that he won't let it get that way. That's why he needs to run the tests." Renji murmured.

Ichigo hugged her, just hugged her, and she relaxed into his arms with a sigh. "Everything is fucked up..." He heard her mutter into his chest. And she was right, he could only hope that it wasn't as bad as they feared.

-//-

Ichigo didn't hear much from Renji for a couple days, Urahara's tests were taking up all of her time. So he just waited patiently, hoping to hear something soon.

After the third day Renji came to see him, the look on her face haunted and drawn. Ichigo feared the worst.

"Renji?" He reached out, hands clasping her arms, rubbing soothingly. "What's wrong?"

She shook a little, looking down away from his face, but when she looked up her eyes were blazing. She punched Ichigo in the jaw with a growl, making the young male fall back in pain and shock.

"What the hell was that for?!" He yelled angrily at her.

"You got me pregnant, you asshole!"

-//-

**I'm going to hell for this... XD But I think I'm okay with it. Do all of you want to kill me now?**

Hey look! Two chapters in two days! Apparently this plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone. Don't expect me to keep updating every day XD  



	7. Chapter 7

Sitting on the tatami floor of the shoten, surrounded by awkward silence, feeling strange and alone, Renji was seriously contemplating killing the blonde man in front of her.

"How the _fuck _did this happen?" she growled, arms crossed, back straight and tense, eyes murderous.

Urahara just waved his fan, looking at Renji and then over at Ichigo.

"Well, I have been examining your test results more thoroughly, and I'm sure you will be pleased to hear that you are _not _going to be having a child."

Renji's shoulders relaxed a fraction of an inch.

"However, you are pregnant."

They tensed again. "What?! That makes no **sense**!"

"It does, if you will let me finish explaining. You see, when your form changed and you were put in a woman's body, the chemical make up of your body changed. Not only the general hormonal and physical changes, but there were also changes to your reiatsu that I had not anticipated."

Ichigo frowned, finally speaking up after a long period of silence. "Reiatsu changes? You never said anything about my reiatsu changing at all."

"That's because, at the core, Kurosaki-kun, you are in fact _human." _The green hatted man looked back at Renji. "Abarai-kun, however, is entirely a shinigami, and so was affected differently... Essentially, changing into a woman is also changing Abarai into a human."

Renji leaped to her feet, rage and confusion jolting through her frame. "_What?! _NO! That's not possible!"

"It is, I'm afraid. And because of the fact that you are becoming more and more human, your body is reacting strangely to the changes. You're experiencing what is known as a "false pregnancy" in which a woman have all the symptoms of pregnancy, but without actually bearing a child. You'll likely gain weight, and experience strange mood swings and cravings, you may even experience bouts of morning sickness. But it's really just your body fooling itself."

Something in Renji's eyes seemed to break, seemed to burst and shatter. "B-but... why?"

"You're body was already struggling to keep up with shifting from shinigami to human, but when you and Kurosaki-kun... well, it was the final push that caused your body to overreact."

Renji slid slowly down to her knees, hair in her face, hiding her expression. She should've known it was a bad idea, should've known better than to let all of this get out of hand.

But the way Ichigo had looked at her, with his eyes so dark and hungry, _wanting _her. Renji had been waiting for so long to see Ichigo look at her that way, since before this whole mess even started. She'd been afraid that if she waited, if she changed back, the chance would be lost...

That night... well it had been strange to say the least, and it had really reminded Renji just how much she did not belong in this body.

To start it had been easy, to touch, to taste, to do a lot of things that she'd always wanted to try with Ichigo. Then... It had hurt, to start, but the pain wasn't severe, more of an uncomfortable jolt. And Renji had never guess how much more sensitive this new body was. It was overwhelming and frightening and _so damn good._ And then it seemed almost like it was over too quickly, though it really had been going on for almost too long. And looking at Ichigo's pleasure drunk face seemed to make it all worthwhile.

But it was a mistake, just a stupid, stupid mistake.

"Abarai-kun?"

She'd been lost in thought, hadn't realized that Urahara was still speaking to her. "What? Sorry, I didn't catch that."

Urahara just nodded and repeated what he had said. "You're about half-human right now, I would say. But if this continues at the pace that it's going, I may not be able to make up a cure before it's too late to change you back."

Her head lifted to stare at Urahara, eyes wide, glassy and shocked. "You mean...?"

"You may become permanently female... and human."

"What should I do?"

"Stay in your shinigami form, don't use a gigai. And... if you lose contact with Zabimaru... Tell me right away."

_Zabimaru. _If she became human... she'd lose that part of her soul, she'd lose everything that she'd ever striven for. All of it. Gone.

She got up and left, and although Ichigo was completely shell-shocked, as unable to believe this turn of events as she was, he still got up and reached out for her.

"Renji-"

"Stay the fuck away from me!"

-//-

**This chapter is short, but I hope it explains some stuff.**

I really had you going for a minute, huh? Nope, no RenIchi babies this time, just some drama. Poor Renji, I'm such a bitch.

Does this make you feel a bit better, Spikykun? **Sorry I had to torture all of you for a while. I was actually gonna wait longer to write this up, but I figured it was best to do it now rather than later.**

Wow, this started off as a humor fic... Where did that go? It's really not funny anymore is it? Oh, well, guess I'll just have to change the category, ne?  



	8. Bonus Chapter

One week later the Urahara household was turned completely upside down. The few times Ichigo had come over to see Renji she had refused to see him, but he could see the effect she'd had on the people there.

Ururu and Jinta were quietly sweeping on the porch, looking down at their work and not at each other. Ichigo had stared at them for a moment before he finally asked why they weren't fighting like they usually did.

"Well..." Ururu said, blinking her wide eyes at Ichigo. "Renji-san got very upset with us yesterday..."

Jinta shuddered at the memory and turned to Ichigo to explain.

-/-

"B-but, Jinta-kun, I swept last time..."

"No way! It's your turn!" The red headed boy tugged viciously on the brunettes pigtails, making her squeal in pain.

"OI!" A loud voice yelled from inside, an angry looking Renji stomping outside to glare at the two of them. "For _fuck's _sake, Jinta, Ururu does all the fucking work. Just pick up the fucking broom and do it before I drag your head down the stairs! Both of you just SHUT UP!"

The two children had stared at her for a few moments before nodding mutely. Renji had turned and gone back inside.

-/-

Urahara was also avoiding the moody redhead, as he explained to Ichigo as they walked through the halls. Both him and Tessai had opted to stay out of her way unless Urahara wanted to do another test, or they had good news.

"She's been... we'll say temperamental, though that is a considerable understatement..." The blonde man murmured. "I asked her to do something the other day and I was promptly yelled at. There were swears in there that I'd never heard in that context before..."

Ichigo forced himself not to laugh. "How has she been, though? Aside from cranky."

Urahara cleared his throat, sliding open the door to the kitchen a crack so that Ichigo could see inside. "See for yourself."

Ichigo peered in, and there was Renji, in her little white and pink yukata, digging through the freezer, scowling darkly. She had definitely put on weight, her breasts and hips looking larger than the last time Ichigo had seen her. And when she pulled out an enormous tub of ice cream he could guess why. She stuck a spoon into the ice cream bucket, promptly sticking a large bite of ice cream into her mouth, which cause her frown to deepen. She closed the freezer, digging through the fridge instead and pulling out a bottle of hot sauce. Ichigo's eyes widened when she poured the sauce all over her ice cream and started eating voraciously.

"Hot sauce? On _ice cream? _Renji hates spicy stuff..."Ichigo said, looking confused and disgusted at the same time.

"The food cravings have apparently overridden that fact..." Urahara said, looking a little tired. "Lately she puts hot sauce on everything. Even chocolate."

Ichigo pulled a face. "Ew."

"Indeed."

-/-

"Oi, Renji!" Ichigo called, hoping that this time she would talk to him.

She glared over at him, but didn't answer or run away, which he took to be a good sign.

"How have you been? Urahara said you've been having a lot of issues... Can... Can I do anything for you?"

Renji stared at him silently for a few long minutes. Then she just bit her lip. "Well... T' be honest..." She went up to Ichigo and hugged Ichigo tightly, sniffing with what Ichigo panickingly thought sounded like tears. "I could really use a friend..." she murmured brokenly into Ichigo's chest.

Ichigo looked down at her, hugging her back awkwardly. "Renji?"

"W-why do these things always happen to me?" she suddenly burst out. "Everyone's always doing this stuff to me! And you're always yelling at me, and Urahara makes me do stupid chores and-and..." she stopped, pulling away from Ichigo's chest with tears in her eyes, looking frustrated. "And Kuchiki-taichou is so MEAN to me!" she wailed, grabbing Ichigo again and sobbing. "It's not fair!"

Ichigo just let her cling, looking somewhat stunned. This had to be the hormones, right? Fuck, he hoped this ended soon...

**-/-**

I was bored so I thought you'd like a little glimpse at pregnant Renji. XD This is really just random, so it's not really a chapter.

**Enjoy! XD**


	9. Chapter 8

"What if I-"

"Don't say it, Renji. Please, don't say it. It won't happen."

"I have to say it! You don't know what's gonna happen! **I **don't know what's gonna happen! Even fuckin' Urahara doesn't know what's gonna happen! I could lose everything, Ichigo! I-I..."

"Renji..."

They were sitting outside, resting in the grass behind the shoten, because where else was there to go? What else was there to do but sit and wait for an outcome that neither of them could possibly anticipate.

"I don't know how to be human... I never was one. I don't understand this world, I don't fit here. And I hate this body so much..."

Ichigo took her hands, and she tried not to flinch away from the touch. It was so _female _to have Ichigo holding her hands like this. But try as she might it was impossible to convince Ichigo to treat her the same as he used to before this happened. When Ichigo was a woman too it was different, it was a shared experience. Now, though, Ichigo just didn't see **Renji **any more. He saw a woman. And Ichigo's personal honour code, or whatever the hell it was, demanded that girls be treated nicer and more delicately than men. It was hard, so hard, to see Ichigo holding back this way, treating her so different. It made her want to scream at him. _I'm still Renji in here! I'm still __**me**__! Please, just look at me the way you used to! Punch me, tell me I'm an idiot! __**Anything! **_

But Ichigo just frowned at her sympathetically, squeezing her hands gently. "Renji, we'll get through it, okay? Urahara will fix this, he has to."

She couldn't yell, she couldn't scream at him and swear and hit. Because she wanted to cry. And she would not allow herself to. No. She'd done enough crying, the hormones in her system had already ruined whatever little bit of self control she had. She wouldn't cry on Ichigo like that again. So she pulled her shihakusho around her and pulled her hands away from his.

"I hope you're right. Otherwise I think I might kill myself." she muttered bitterly.

"Don't say things like that!"

She glared, getting to her feet. "I'll say what I want. Now, I think ya ought t' leave me alone before you say something that pisses me off..."

"Renji..."

"Just go."

-/-

He knew that Renji didn't mean to hurt him this way. He knew that she was going through a lot, that she was having difficulty dealing. Yes, Ichigo understood what it was like to be trapped in the wrong body, but what Renji was going through now... He couldn't even imagine.

But it hurt, a lot more than he thought it would, to have her push him away like that. He could see the pain in her eyes, could see that she needed something from him, and he'd do anything for her right now. But she wouldn't say what she needed from him.

So he just went to Urahara's small lab, and watched the man work feverishly to try and cure Renji. It had been over a week, and it was becoming more and more difficult for Renji to hold on to the part of her that was a shinigami.

He waited there, watching, not saying anything. Urahara understood that he needed to feel like he knew what was going on, like he could be there when needed, so he didn't tell the young man to leave. This was hard on all of them.

-/-

It was hours later when Renji rushed into the room in a panic.

"Zabimaru! _Zabimaru's gone!_" she shrieked. "I can't hear! There's nothin'! It's like static! Urahara! No! No! Fuck, no! This isn't happenin'!"she fell to her knees, and her skin was so pale she could've been dead, and her eyes were blank and glassy with deep shock. "No, no, no, no..." she kept repeating, over and over.

Ichigo and Urahara were at her side in moments, Urahara holding onto her shoulders, trying to ask her questions, trying to find out exactly what she was feeling. But he didn't get any answer other then a muffled wail of pain. Renji was holding her stomach like she was in pain, her body shuddering and convulsing. "Gone, gone..." she whispered. "Ripped away... gone, gone..."

"Kurosaki-kun, you need to help me get her to a bed. She's in deep shock."

Ichigo seemed a little stunned, looking like he wanted to grab Renji and shake her, snap her out of it.

"Kurosaki!" Urahara snapped and Ichigo looked up at him with wide eyes. "If we leave her in this condition she could slip into a coma and die! Now help me!"

The two men sprang into action, taking her carefully and rushing her to a bed, calling on Tessai and pulling blankets over her.

Her skin was so cold, Ichigo thought, panicked. Renji was always warm, to the point of being hot, like a human space heater. But now her skin was clammy and cold and her eyes were blank and she didn't even see him when he looked at her. She kept murmuring to herself, but her voice was getting weaker.

"U-Urahara!" Ichigo said, voice shaky. "Her lips are turning blue!"

"She's not getting enough oxygen, her heart rate must be decreasing." Urahara said, Tessai had arrived and they were working around the girl, hands glowing with kido Ichigo didn't recognize or understand.

Urahara looked at Ichigo, seeing the lost expression on the boy's suddenly very young face. "Talk to her. She's afraid. A part of her soul was just taken away. She needs support now."

Ichigo nodded, though he had no idea what to say. He took her hand, squeezing hard, an almost pained expression on his face as he said the first things that came to mind. "Renji, Renji, c'mon, you're tougher than this. You can make it through anything. Zabimaru..." he choked a little. "Zabimaru won't come back to you if he sees you looking all weak like this. You gotta toughen up, show him how strong you are. He'll come back, Renji. He'd never leave you for long. And... And you gotta pull through, because we need you here, and you need to hang on so that Urahara can fix this. And then we'll beat the shit out of him for putting us through all this. So hold on for me, you big, stupid redhead, don't you lose it on me! I've gotten way too used to having you around to let you disappear on me now!"

He kept talking, though he didn't get a response, and Urahara and Tessai kept working. Urahara hooked Renji up to all sorts of weird machines, pulling a small lab into the room to try and mix together something, anything that would help, that would slow down or reverse this horrible transformation. There wasn't time to waste any more, and screw the days he still needed, this cure needed to get made _now._

-/-

It was cold, so cold, and dark. Inside Renji's mind, in the jungle where she would normally find Zabimaru. And though she called out to her zanpakuto, she got no answer. She rushed through trees and vines, the tropical world covered in a layer of unnatural frost. Her bare feet slipped and she fell against the frozen ground with a sob.

"Zabimaru!" she screamed, scrambling to her feet, nails digging into the earth, scratching up her hands as she continued to run.

Ichigo's voice seemed to echo in her head, though she couldn't see him. _"So hold on for me you big, stupid redhead, don't you lose it on me!"_

"Ichigo..." she murmured, her face scratched up and cut as she ran through crumbling branches of once lush trees, feeling blood drip over her face as she struggled through icy briar bushes of thorns. "Ichigo, I can't find Zabimaru! Help me dammit!"

She called and screamed and struggled and hurt and it was so cold, and everything was so hopeless. Because her heart was gone, missing, torn from her chest, and her spirit was crumbling around her in the farthest reaches of her mind. She slipped again, falling, crying out as her leg seemed to crush and snap under her weight. She crawled through the dirt, tears of pain mixing with blood and filth running down her face as she dragged herself with every last ounce of strength she had left.

Strong. Tough. Never give up.

But it was so hard to remember when all she wanted to do was lay down and never wake up from an endless sleep...

**-/-**

**God, I'm cruel. I just had to add more drama. Poor Renji. This chapter makes me feel bad...**


	10. Chapter 9

Ichigo sat beside the small bed, listening to machines beep, looking like the worst kind of death, with circles under his eyes so deep he looked nearly skeletal. But stress and a full night without sleep can do that to you.

They'd managed to stabilize Renji's condition, leaving her to her slumber while Urahara worked feverishly to cure her. Ichigo waited by her side, talking aimlessly about anything that came to mind, just so that she could hear his voice. Urahara had told him that she was lost, that talking to her might help her find her way back, and Ichigo was desperate for that to be true. He wanted Renji back, the old Renji, the old stupid, loud, i'll-punch-you-in-the-face-for-no-good-reason Renji. He missed him, more than he cared to admit. He wanted this whole ordeal to be over...

Urahara came in, sighing as he went to check the machines for what seemed to be the thousandth time, and his expression was grim as he observed the results.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, looking exhausted and hollow.

"There's no improvement... Renji's struggling..."

Ichigo frowned, even deeper than usual. "What can I do? There's gotta be something."

Urahara looked thoughtful. "There might be something..."

-/-

Now Ichigo was laying on another small cot, looking across at Renji's pale face with an apprehensive expression. "You're sure this'll work?" he asked, looking dubious.

"Renji needs strong reiatsu to feed the part that is still a shinigami. Yours is perfect for the job since the two of you have similar reiatsu already."

"We do?"

"Yes, the two of you actually sync in battle almost seamlessly. It's remarkable to watch."

Ichigo hadn't known that before, it was just another thing to think about. When and if this "procedure" worked.

"I have an anesthetic here for you, Kurosaki-kun. Remember, when your reiatsu meshes, your minds might come together as well. It'll be disorienting, but do what you can." Ichigo nodded and Urahara pierced a small needle into his shoulder.

"Count back from ten."

"Ten, nine, eight, seve..."

-/-

It was cold, that was the first thing Ichigo noticed. When he raised his head he felt like his skin was numb from it. All around him there were plants, but the plants were frosted over, decaying in the cold, dying. The ground under him seemed unstable, fragile, Like, if he stepped wrong, it would crumble beneath him.

The fabric of Renji's soul...

He struggled to his feet, blinking and looking around. He was wearing his shinigami robes now, looking down at himself, feeling Zangetsu's weight on his back. He started walking, not really caring what direction he was going in. There wasn't an east or west here.

He caught a flash of red out of the corner of his eye, turning quickly. When he looked again he could see the tiniest hint of that red a short distance away, so he followed.

He came to some sort of clearing, with a frozen over pond and dry, brown grass where it was no doubt supposed to be green.

Renji waited there, but it was a side of Renji that Ichigo hadn't even realized how much he'd longed to see. It was _Renji_, male Renji, the real Renji, laying back on the grass with his eyes closed and his skin pale, looking almost at fragile as the world around him and at the same time like he was holding this entire world together.

"Renji!" He couldn't help the smile on his face, even though he knew that it wasn't exactly a happy reunion.

Renji opened his eyes, blinking and sitting up, turning to look at Ichigo, looking confused as he looked over at the other man.

"Renji!" Ichigo called again, rushing towards him, knocking the redhead back onto the ground as he wrapped his arms around him and crushed their lips together. "It's _you. Really _you!"

"Ichigo?" Renji pulled away, a little dizzy, looking up at Ichigo, just as confused by the sudden kiss as he was by the boy's presence. "What are you doin' here? _How _are you here?"

Ichigo face was flushed, though it was more from excitement at seeing Renji than any sort of embarrassment.

"Urahara is using my reiatsu to help you. I don't know how it works. But that's how I'm here I guess."

Renji sat up a bit again, watching the boy in his lap with eyes that were almost disbelieving.

"You sure you're not just a hallucination? It's been lonely here... With Zabimaru gone..."

His eyes were so dark and sad, Ichigo felt every protective instinct inside him welling up and demanding that he do something. He started by getting off of Renji's lap and standing, reaching out a hand. "I'm really here, Renji. I promise. Let's go look for Zabimaru, alright? You're probably just to thick to notice him when you were looking before."

Renji just shook his head, not rising up to the insult, just looking up at Ichigo with an uncharacteristically solemn expression. "It's no use. I've already looked. When I first got here I was freaked out, runnin' around everywhere, I didn't even realize that I was back to normal..." He slowly got to his feet, turning away from Ichigo so that he faced the frozen pond. "When I did notice, I realized that this is the last part of me that's still... me..." He sighed. "An' this part of me is dyin'..."

"Don't say shit like that! You're not dying!"

"Ain't I? Look around, Ichigo! This place is fallin' apart! _I'm _fallin' apart." He scoffed. "What d'you care anyway? You like that other me better anyway!"

"That's not true!" Ichigo yelled, getting up into Renji's face with glaring eyes. "I liked _you_! I always did! You just never noticed until all of this happened!" He poked a finger into Renji's chest, looking stern and pissed. "You talked about how I 'looked' at you? I've always looked at you like that! Who doesn't? You walk into the room and everyone's eyes are on you, it doesn't matter what you're doing! So what was I supposed to do, huh? What do you do when you want something that everyone else wants too? Don't go feeding me some bullshit about how I like you better this way or that way, all I ever wanted was you, plain and simple. And I am not going to fucking lose you just because you're too much of an ass to fight for your own life! Now come on! We're looking for Zabimaru!"

He grabbed Renji's hand, pulling him along, ignoring the redheads stammering, his stunned expression. They had to get through this, they _would _get through this. They had to keep Renji fighting until Urahara finished whatever it was he was going to do.

Renji stared at Ichigo's back as they walked, feeling hope piercing into him through the fog of pain and the mask that he'd put up as soon as he'd started this vain struggle to hold himself together. Ichigo was determined to save him. And if there was one thing Ichigo knew how to do, it was save people from the brink of death...

"Alright. Let's find Zabimaru." Renji agreed, holding Ichigo's hand tightly and walking beside him. "Together."

-/-

Urahara stood over the sleeping forms of the two shinigami, smiling a little as he looked at their linked hands between the beds. He took a syringe, moving to the IV drip currently connected to Renji's arm. He injected a red-ish pulsing liquid into the IV, stepping back with a nod.

"The rest is up to you two. Good luck."

-/-


	11. Chapter 10 FINAL

Walking through a frozen jungle, with their hands still linked for reasons neither of them cared to admit, Ichigo and Renji searched for that missing piece of Renji that would bring everything back together again. But they seemed to be going in circles, and Ichigo was completely lost in unfamiliar territory. Who would've thought that Renji's mind would be a maze?

But he supposed Renji really was full of hidden complexities... On the outside he seemed pretty simple, brash, arrogant, cocky, and an asshole in general. But there was a lot more to him then that. There was compassion in Renji, a lot of it, underneath that hard exterior was a soft heart that was easily hurt, but not easily broken.

There was strength there as well. And a determination that even Ichigo didn't think he could match. How many times had Renji gotten up when Ichigo would have stayed down? The pain must have been intense to the point of blacking out, but Renji didn't do that either. When Ichigo had cut him down in Soul Society, and he'd been thrown back, hair flying loose, blood splattering everywhere, Ichigo had been half-afraid that he'd killed him. But then Renji had not only gotten up but he'd walked over to him and grabbed him. His hand on Ichigo's shihakusho had been unsteady, but strong.

Looking back, Ichigo was pretty sure that was the moment he'd started looking at Renji differently. Right in that exact moment, with Renji so close to him, smelling like blood and sweat and looking so strangely vulnerable. Renji had just been an enemy before, a goal that Ichigo had to surpass, but in that moment Ichigo saw him as a person, as someone real, not just an obstacle. And something about Renji had made something unnamed stir in his gut.

He looked over at the man that filled his thoughts, seeing his pale, tense face, his dark, pained eyes, Ichigo's heart clenched. His grip tightened on Renji's hand and he stopped walking. Renji stopped as well, looking back at him in confusion.

"There must be something more we can do then just wander around. We need to rest a minute and think." Ichigo said, and if his voice hadn't been so soft he might have sounded commanding. Renji just nodded mutely and turned to face Ichigo properly.

Ichigo just looked at Renji's face for several long moments, at a loss. How could that face go away, how could those eyes, that body, that attitude just disappear? It wasn't possible. He couldn't let it happen. But he could feel the time slipping through his fingers and he had no idea what to do. Renji looked so tired, like all he wanted to do was sleep and never wake up again. Ichigo bit his lip, looking into Renji's eyes and sighing deeply.

"Fuck, I don't know what to do for you..." he muttered, giving in to impulse and wrapped his arms around the redhead. He hugged him tightly, feeling Renji's arms wrap around his shoulders, his head resting on top of Ichigo's head. Ichigo kind of hated how much taller Renji was then him, but right now he just kind of fit against Renji's big body so he really didn't mind. Renji closed his eyes, breathing Ichigo in, trying to push back the fog that had been trying to take over his mind for the last little while. It was easier now, with Ichigo so close to him. It was like something inside him that was freezing up, just like the world around them, was slowly thawing out.

"Just stay like that..." Renji murmured, not really thinking before he said it. Ichigo looked up at him curiously.

Ichigo's body was warm, that was all that Renji cared about right then, he kept his eyes closed, holding Ichigo tightly against him. Ichigo wasn't content to just stand there, though. He took Renji's face in his hands and pulled him down to kiss him, feeling like a girl when he had to stand up on his toes to do so.

Kissing Ichigo was like making the world melt away, like everything around them was nothing more than a coloured blur and nothing else mattered but the soft mouth on his. It was different, kissing him now, when they were both themselves, almost like it was more real. Like all the kisses from before had just been pretend, and now this was the real thing.

When he'd seen Ichigo running towards him, here in this wasteland of thought, he'd been certain he wasn't real, that his imagination was bringing forth for him the person he missed the most, all alone in the dark. But then their bodies had collided and Ichigo was calling his name and kissing him, and he was too much like _Ichigo_ to not be real. Renji figured his imagination would probably make Ichigo less bossy and a lot more naked.

As they stood there, too absorbed in each other to notice, the ground around them seemed to warm up under their feet, the frost melting away to make way for green grass. Renji's mind was empty of anything but Ichigo, no longer focusing on lingering worries about what lay ahead.

And, of course, as soon as he stopped thinking about it, he knew what to do.

"Ichigo." he murmured, pulling back from the younger man's lips and smiling lightly. "Draw Zangetsu."

Ichigo had been staring at Renji's mouth, wanting it again, blinking in confusion when Renji's words sunk in. "What?"

"Draw yer zanpakuto, I know what to do."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, "And how, exactly, did you come up with this sudden epiphany, may I ask?"

"Goin' with my gut." Renji grinned, and if anything was going to convince Ichigo to go along with this, it was seeing that almost maniacal smile back on that gorgeous face. "Think about it. When has Zabimaru ever passed up a chance t' cross with Zangetsu? He's always itching to go at it again."

"But Renji... How are we supposed to start a fight when you don't have a zanpakuto? Not even a sealed one..." He looked down at Renji's waist, his obi sash lacking the sheathed blade with the lightning bolt hilt.

"I dunno, I'm makin' this up as I go. Just work with me here." He let go of Ichigo, backing away a few paces and settling into a defensive stance, fists up in the air. "Just draw Zangetsu 'n' come at me. If it doesn't work then you get to beat on my ass, I know how much you love doin' that."

Ichigo chuckled and shook his head. It was so weird to have Renji acting like his normal stupid self when they were in this situation. But who was to say it wouldn't work? It couldn't hurt to try, and it was better then wandering around accomplishing nothing.

"Alright, you crazy bastard. Better brace yourself." He said, pulling the ridiculously large blade off of his back and swinging it in front of him.

He ran towards Renji, swinging Zangetsu over his head in a heavy upward swing and bringing it back down over Renji's head, but the redhead dodged over to the side, surprisingly light on his feet considering his size, but he did have to keep up with Kuchiki Byakuya on a daily basis...

Ichigo swung out against Renji again, watching as the fukutaichou continued to evade his attacks. He knew he was going easier then he normally would, but really, Renji didn't have a sword, it would feel wrong to attack him at full strength.

"Stop holdin' back." Renji said, reading his thoughts and grinning wolfishly. "I can handle it."

Ichigo frowned a little at him, but couldn't stop the smile that twitched at the corners of his mouth. "Fine. You asked for it."

He yelled and shunpo'd forward, leaping into the air and falling back down towards Renji's brightly coloured head, Zangetsu braced for a devastating strike.

Only to find himself blocked by the thin, shining metal of Renji's sealed zanpakuto. Ichigo's eyes widened, and Renji looked just as surprised, but he recovered quickly, grinning hugely. "Keep goin'." He said, striking out with an attack of his own with the materialized blade in his hand.

Ichigo was grinning too, almost disbelieving that Renji's idea had actually _worked. _He parried Renji's blow, pushing him back, and the redhead was laughing in that rough voice as he pushed back, sounding just the same as he always did when they sparred like this. Since he didn't really need to hold back any more Ichigo just lost himself in the rhythm of their bodies, in the tense and release as they came together and parted again, and Renji seemed just as lost to that familiar beat. They didn't notice that everywhere their feet touched the ground thawed and warmed, or that the air around them was gradually heating up along with the pace of their sparring. It wasn't until, after being pushed back one too many times for his liking, Renji automatically called the name of his zanpakuto, that they noticed any change.

"Hoero, Zabimaru!"

They both froze as the words left his lips, the tension of that one millisecond seemed to stretch on forever.

But then, in Renji's hand, the jagged teeth of Zabimaru's true blade materialized, a welcome sight to both shinigami.

"'Bout time you brought me out, you idiot." A voice said from beside them, and Ichigo gasped a bit when they both turned to face the large Nue that had spoken.

"Yeah, why th' hell didn't ya think t' do that earlier, asshole?" the snake hissed, looking rather irritated. "I keep tellin' ya that fightin' solves all o' yer problems if yer doin' it right!"

"Obviously it would have been impossible without Zangetsu and Ichigo here." The baboon half added, "But you really did make us wait."

Renji chuckled ruefully. "Sorry 'bout that. You know I can be a li'l slow."

The baboon nodded its large head, blinking it's red eyes over at Ichigo. "Thank you." he said simply, before sighing a bit. "Now the two of you should return before people worry."

And with that the world around them seemed to melt away into black, a warm darkness that a few seconds later focused into awareness. There was the continuous beeping of monitoring machines and the warm roughness of another person's hand, the weight of blankets, and the firmness of a mattress against their backs. It was Ichigo who opened his eyes first, looking over at Renji, for a moment wondering if it was just a dream. But then Renji's eyes opened too, blinking over at Ichigo and smiling softly. He sat up a bit, scowling a the various wires that connected him to the machines. He was happy to see his normal, male body underneath the heavy sheets and he cheerfully started tugging wires off.

One of the monitors made a high pitched squealing noise and there was scrabbling outside the door. Urahara ran inside, more frazzled then either man had ever seen him, and Ichigo snickered to himself as he followed Renji's lead and started tugging at cords. Once Urahara stopped long enough to see that they were both actually _okay_ the hat came down over his face again and he sighed.

"You two certainly do keep me on my toes, don't you?" he said, peeking out from under the brim to see the two men carefully setting themselves back on the floor.

"Yeah, well, we're always full of surprises, ne, Urahara-san?" Ichigo said coolly.

"Now I think..." Renji began.

"That we owe you..." Ichigo continued.

"THIS!" They bellowed at the same time, both men's fists colliding with the shopkeeper's stunned looking face at the same time, a satisfying 'crack' sounding through the air and blood spurting from the blonde's clearly broken noise.

"Well... I probably deserved that..." Urahara murmured nasally, watching as his patients left the room, arms around each other's shoulders, laughing sadistically at his pain. He could only speculate where they were going, but he guessed he wouldn't be welcome near either of them for quite some time. He pinched the bridge of his nose, hissing in pain as he left the room as well. "Oh, Tessai-san? A little assistance please?"

-/-

Renji and Ichigo made their way almost unconsciously towards Ichigo's room, glancing at each other as they walked inside. Ichigo was dressed in a plain white robe that Urahara had put him in before he'd transferred his reiatsu into Renji, and Renji was simply dressed in his cherry blossom yukata.

They stopped laughing and talking, just looking at each other for several long moments. What finally broke the silence was the sound of Renji sliding the door shut with a soft 'thunk', leaving the two of them to look at each other with nothing but the light coming in under the door. Which was fine, since less then a moment later Ichigo's arms were wrapped tightly around Renji's neck and they were kissing heatedly against the nearest surface (which happened to be a side table).

They knocked things onto the floor, bodies, pressed together tightly, hearing the tinkling of broken glass as they knocked over a lamp in the effort to loosen each other's belts. Renji's hands burned over Ichigo's skin as he slipped his hands inside Ichigo's robe, rubbing over his torso before pushing the material off of the boy's shoulders so that he could part their lips and nip hungrily down his pale throat.

"Haa, Renji..." Ichigo breathed, panting a bit and tipping his head back, his hands leaving Ichigo's body just long enough to slide the top half of the robe completely off of him. His fingers tangled in Renji's wild, sleep-mussed hair, tugging when he felt a small bite on his collarbone.

It was delightful to find out that Renji really wasn't all that different, that the little things he'd learned over these pasts few weeks still held true. Like how Renji still moaned when Ichigo sucked along that soft spot just under his ear, or how Ichigo would cling to Renji when he pressed his fingers into his lower back.

But at the same time, it was so different and exciting and laced with just a hint of desperation because Ichigo had just about lost him, and he had to make sure that it was never going to happen again. Renji's body was hot and hard and masculine under his hands, which was an entirely new sensation that Ichigo was unsure how to deal with, but it became clear very fast that Renji didn't care about his hesitation, he was more then happy to take the lead.

They somehow made it over to the futon, tumbling onto it with Renji on top, his mouth ravaging its way down over Ichigo's chest. Ichigo gasped and moaned as Renji took a nipple between his teeth and tugged, so much rougher then he'd been before. But maybe Renji was a little desperate too, because he'd craved this so badly, wanted it so much, and now that he hadn't he couldn't stop even if the universe suddenly exploded around them.

Ichigo wasn't complaining, quite the opposite. This dominant, rough, demanding Renji was what he'd missed so dearly, he wouldn't give him up for anything by now.

Fingers finally managed to completely undo each belt in turn, sliding cloth entirely off of each man's already sweat-slicked skin. They stared at each other, their naked, hard bodies finally coming together for the first time and deep moaning drawing from both of them as their erections ground together.

Ichigo was feeling a little dizzy with it all, clinging to Renji's shoulder and hair like lifelines as Renji's mouth continued to savour every part of him, sampling greedily. But as he felt Renji's tongue sliding up his cock Ichigo groaned and tugged Renji back up to him. "H-how are we going to do this?" he asked nervously, blushing at his own uncertainty and biting his lip. Renji just wanted to eat him up.

"Well, if I recall, I already played th' girl for ya, Ichigo..." he murmured in a low voice, sending shivers up Ichigo's spin for several reasons. "So I'm thinkin' ya'd better hold on tight 'n' enjoy th' ride... 'Cuz I ain't holdin' back this time..."

Ichigo swallowed thickly and nodded a bit, leaning up to kiss Renji again. The redhead's hand wandered beside the bed, feeling around the scattered things they'd knocked from the side table, his fingers closing over a bottle of lilac scented lotion that Urahara had for some reason set in every room. Not that Renji was thinking about that as he warmed the thick liquid over both his hands and wrapped one lubricated hand around Ichigo's cock.

"Oh, fuck..." Ichigo moaned, eyes squeezing shut and his hips bucking up into Renji's hand. "fuck, Renji, fuck..."

"That what ya want, Ichigo? You want me to fuck ya?" Renji asked in a rough tone, needing him to answer before he could take this any further.

It took a moment for Ichigo to decide, his mind entirely distracted by Renji's hand running smoothly and slowly over his cock, but his mind was completely made up within that moment.

"Yes. God yes. Renji, fuck me." He said, voice a little strained and hoarse, another moan escaping him as Renji's fingers squeezed his cock tighter.

Renji nearly sighed in relief, but he was too busy surging forward to claim Ichigo's lips again to bother.

"Spread your legs for me." He murmured into Ichigo's ear, pulling a small whimper from the boy's lips.

There was a moments hesitation while the young shinigami weighed how much trust he had in Renji. It didn't take him long to figure out that he didn't really trust anyone more. So he spread his legs and tried not to feel vulnerable, looking up at Renji with eyes that were dark with desire and wide with nerves. Renji kissed him again, softer this time, longer and sweeter, his tongue encouraging Ichigo's to play in its tender, slow dance. Ichigo melted into the futon, focusing on the sweet taste of Renji on his tongue and doing his best not to squirm when he felt the fingers of Renji's free hand lightly moving up his thigh and tracing slickly over his entrance. It made him shudder, that weird, unfamiliar sparking of nerves, making his lower back arch a bit and forcing Renji to swallow a breathless, unsure moan. He spread his legs wider, anticipation leaving a light, fluttering feeling in his gut.

He couldn't stop the gasp, or his back arching, or the sharp tug on Renji's hair when that first finger pressed inside him, making him whine. It was hot, and strange, but mostly it just made him want to buck and squirm and feel more, his body a little unsure as to whether or not it was enjoying this.

Renji's slick finger pressed in deeper, slowly and carefully beginning to thrust in and out of Ichigo's mind-blowingly tight ass. The muffled whining moan that Ichigo tried to conceal when he did so made Renji's cock twitch and his stomach clench with want. He slipped a second finger inside carefully, beginning to stretch Ichigo and prepare him for what was certainly going to be a memorable night ahead of them.

_Oh, god..._ Was basically the only thing going through Ichigo's mind as he felt Renji stretching him open, fucking him with his fingers. He already felt stretched and hot and could barely believe that he could possibly feel more full then he did already. But he believed it when Renji carefully, carefully added a third finger and worked harder to make Ichigo relax. It wasn't going as well as Renji would like, since Ichigo couldn't relax at the best of times, but as soon as his fingers brushed over that spot Ichigo's body twitched and spasmed hard before going completely, bonelessly limp. Except for his cock of course, which was painfully hard.

"Oh, god, Renji, please just fuck me... I'm losin' it... I want you in me..."

"Ah, shit, why d'ya gotta be so fuckin' hot all th' time?" Renji growled, sucking roughly on Ichigo's neck until his mark was left before he slowly pulled his fingers out of Ichigo's body. He grabbed the bottle of lotion again, groaning as he lubed up his thick cock. Ichigo could hear him moaning, knowing what he was doing, but he couldn't look, he couldn't see how big Renji's cock was, not now, he'd freak out, he knew it. So he rested back and lifted his hips encouragingly, causing Renji to curse rather viciously and shakily line himself up at Ichigo's entrance. "Relax okay?" he murmured.

And to his surprise, Ichigo actually did, wrapping his arms over Renji's shoulders and his legs around his waist, pulling him in until Renji was slowly starting to press into him.

"Oh, oh... D-damn, Renji..." he whispered, clinging tighter to Renji as he _felt _just how thick and hard Renji was inside him, making him keen at an embarrassingly high pitch as Renji settled deeply inside him. It didn't take long before his body couldn't remain still, adjustment be damned, he couldn't wait. "Move, Renji, please."

To start, the redhead was painfully gentle, moving inside Ichigo in long, deep, slow thrusts that made his back arch and his chest heave for breath. But he couldn't keep up that pace for long, neither of them could. He thrust harder, faster, grinding deeper into Ichigo until he was pulling a moan out of the boy with almost every breath. With Renji's hands on his hips to guide him Ichigo pressed back into Renji's thrusts, crying out when he found the rhythm and Renji's cock pressed up right against that brain-breaking spot that made precum spurt from his cock and his eyes roll back into his head.

Hearing that cry seemed to snap something in Renji and suddenly he couldn't hold back any more, gradually picking up the pace until they were pounding against one another hard enough to hurt. But Renji found it hard to feel guilty, even if this was Ichigo's first time and he probably wasn't going to be able to walk tomorrow, because of how much the shinigami-daikou so obviously loved every second of it. Every breathless moan, every groaned demand for more, every harsh whisper of his name, was pushing Renji closer and closer to that pleasurable edge. He wrapped his hand around Ichigo's cock again, stroking him in time to their rough, fast movements, making Ichigo yell Renji's name loudly and writhe under him. It didn't take long before Ichigo was cumming unbelievably hard all over both of their stomachs, leaving him a squirming moaning mess and pulling Renji over the edge with him.

"Fuck, fuck, Ichigo..." Renji murmured, trying to catch his rapid breath, "That was..."

"Oh, god, Renji..." Ichigo murmured back, slowly releasing the shinigami's hair from his grip and relaxing under him. "Why the fuck didn't we ever do that before?" he wondered.

Renji chuckled. "I have no fuckin' clue."

"But we're gonna do it again, right?"

"You kiddin'? We might not leave this room for the next week." Renji was grinning, but Ichigo couldn't really see in the dark.

Ichigo grinned back anyway. "Yeah? Does that mean I can ride you next time?"

Renji growled, nipping Ichigo's neck sharply. "O' course. In fact, I plan on getti n' ya int' every position I can think of b'fore we both pass out."

"Making up for lost time?"

"That 'n' one of us spent a couple weeks horny 'n' 'pregnant' 'n' didn't get any relief from it."

Ichigo blushed again. "Oh... Well then I guess we'd better get started again, huh?"

"Damn right."

Ichigo licked his lips a bit, thinking to himself that maybe this whole ordeal was worth it, that maybe, if he could have this, if he could wake up next to Renji in the morning, if he could kiss him whenever he wanted and touch him all the time, maybe this whole thing wasn't so bad.

But then Renji was kissing him again, and he didn't think anything else for hours after that.

They were back, they were happy, and they were together, and Urahara was sure as hell not going to try anything like that for awhile at least. So they could enjoy this, whatever it was, because both men were starting to wonder if it wasn't more then an 'attraction', and they could feel safe, for a few hours at least.

Because since when are shinigami ever really safe? There was always more trouble to get into.

But that's kind of what made it great.

-/-

**THE END**

**Oh my god... it's over... I-I... wow...**

**Thank you so much, to everyone who was following this series, your support is what got me to actually finish it. A big thank you to my RenIchi friends on LJ, since you guys helped me to make my story so much better and... yeah. It's done. I'm very proud of myself XD  
**


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